‘Mama’s Missionary Money’ by Chester Himes

I struggled to make sense of this one. It’s a morality tale, sure. Lemuel gets caught stealing – you guessed it from the title – his mama’s missionary money.

OK.

But he isn’t redeemed in the end. He’s only punished. Violently.

So is it meant as a playful slice of life story? I’m not sure. That would be my best guess.

It’s just complicated because the violence – being whipped by a belt – isn’t playful or funny. I know these are different times, but sheesh. This brand of corporal punishment is a key part of the entire story – referenced earlier when he hears a neighbor friend getting whupped. “Everybody knew everybody else’s cry,” we’re told.

So I’m not sure where the author’s morality lies. I’m not sure where the story is pointing us toward emotionally. But there’s no doubt it is a terrific picture of a specific time and place. The descriptions are great. Lemuel’s generous adventures in spending the ill-gotten money are vivid and fun. The beatings too are a part of that picture. It’s all very easy to visualize. And that’s quite a trick on Himes’s part.

The selection:

Lemuel went on to the house, opened and shut the screen door softly, and stood for a moment in the kitchen. His ma’d be gone about fifteen minutes. He wiped the dust off his feet with his hands and started going through the house, searching each room systematically, just looking to see what he could find. He I went upstairs to his ma’s and pa’s room, sniffed around in the closet, feeling in the pockets of his pa’s Sunday suit, then knelt down and looked underneath the bed. He stopped and peeped out the front window, cautiously pulling back the curtains. Old Mr. Diggen was out in his yard ‘cross the street, fooling ’round his fence. His ma wasn’t nowhere in sight.